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Daylight
robbery in Hippo Valley

Mail and Guardian

Greig Henning: COMMENT

16 January 2006 03:00

Zimbabwean farmer Greig Henning’s farm
equipment was illegally seized by police, army officials and war veterans. An
angry policeman (below) kept a close eye on proceedings. (Photograph: Greig
Henning)

It’s Friday afternoon, November 18 2005 on my farm
at Chiredzi. At 3.15pm it’s still sweltering. That is why it is such a good
place to grow sugar cane. I am alerted by the dogs barking. Filled with dread, I
just know it’s the police/army group, which grandly calls itself the “Farm
Material and Equipment Procurement Committee”, which has seized farming
equipment in the run-up to the festive season.

I thought we had done
enough legally to stop them taking ours. A few minutes pass. My hands grow
clammy, my thoughts race to the violence of 2003: I had been assaulted by war
veterans; was hijacked by land grabbers; arrested at gunpoint by the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP). The police had not protected me then and now they were
about to ransack me. On a similar Friday afternoon in 2003, my yard had swarmed
with war vets and I had to run into the sugar cane fields to escape them. What
now?!

My clerk buzzed. Yes, the police and army are here. They are inside
the security fence. They want to see me. Now.

In the previous fortnight,
six of my fellow farmers in Hippo Valley, two of whom are neighbours, had almost
all their equipment plundered by this committee. Tractors, cane haulage
trailers, centre pivots, irrigation pipes, pumps, motors, implements and all
sorts of other items were loaded on to police trucks by an enormous army mobile
crane and by numerous convicts drafted from the local prison. Everything was
ferried to Chiredzi police station and stashed to be plundered later.

No
documentsNow it looks as if it is my turn to be cleaned out, for no other
reason, it later transpired, than for the looters to enrich themselves. No
ideology here!

Police, soldiers, government land officials and war vets
wait for me at the workshop. Perhaps 20 or more, some armed, all glowering.

Do I see anger? Hatred? Contempt? It is an admixture with more than a
hint of triumph, as if they have finally caught up with an escaped
criminal.

ZRP Assistant Commissioner Loveness Ndanga, head of the
“procurement committee”, introduces herself. She informs me she and her crew
have come to collect all the equipment they had inventoried (illegally, by the
way!) in May. Everyone has moved closer and I find myself surrounded by this
hostile throng. I have to be calm, cautious. I politely ask whether she has the
necessary documentation to remove the equipment and is she going to pay me for
it first? “No documents”, she replies. She is following her “chain of command”,
and the “nitty-gritties could be sorted out” at the police station
“later”.

Ndanga asks whether I have any objections. I would prefer to see
proper procedure and first get the documentation, I tell her. She insists she
will instead be collecting the equipment immediately. Was I about to stop them
loading, she asked threateningly.

I reply that she has armed police,
soldiers and others by her side. Being unarmed and outnumbered 20 to one, I am
physically unlikely to prevent her from loading my possessions. I express
concern, though, that she, as a law-enforcement officer, was taking the law into
her own hands. Ndanga’s only acknowledgement is to demand the keys to the
tractors so that her crew could start removing machinery while we continue to
talk.

I appeal to her to delay her actions for three more days until the
matter, which had been set down, could be heard in the high court. In response,
she turns her back and ignores me.

Sick to my stomachI thought that
the knowledge and sight of this self-same committee looting my neighbours during
the previous two weeks would have conditioned me as to what to expect. Instead,
I am sick to my stomach. That menacing, monster crane, as high as a howitzer,
growls into action, their lorries ease into position. The disgraceful spectacle
of government agents, bureaucrats and members of the armed forces plundering my
equipment is almost too disgusting for me to behold. My mechanic, clerk,
security guard, garden staff, have lined themselves along the fence, folding
their arms tightly against their bodies. They are visibly stunned, embarrassed,
helpless. One is silently weeping.

As I watch, I think to myself, what
cynical solution is this to solving the country’s food shortages? In which
nation on Earth is it part of the culture to behave in this manner? And then get
away with it with no one to disapprove it? Am I observing state-sponsored theft?
How deeply ingrained is it? If the civil service has sunk so low, how will
Zimbabwe ever extricate herself from the morass?

While my thoughts race,
I am not hostile at all. What, indeed, can I do? They start to relax and I am
able to use the new mood and record the event on video once more.

I feel
like Alice in Wonderland. Unless you were actually witnessing it, who would
actually believe this could happen in modern society? Whereas there is a
Constitution giving me a chance to uphold my rights and although I have won
every case in court, the realities on the ground make me dance to an awful
tune.

As I film their scowling faces, they kept their voices low, while
they load the tools of my trade. They seem slightly ashamed. The years of abuse
by officialdom, and my deep Christian faith, have inured me.

Hours later,
the loaders regain their confidence and overcome their embarrassment. They
become more vociferous, shouting instructions to each other. The next day when
they return, they are more eager about the task. My best tractor, the most
valuable one, the one they use to help the others remove my assets, is less
happy. It now has a whine in the gearbox, a noise in the differential. I fret
they must be using it at high speed in four-wheel drive.

Nobody
winsThe police tire of their task. They seem sated. They have removed enough
to cripple any efforts I have in mind to continue farming or contracting. We
repair to the police station to discuss the “nitty- gritties” Ndanga talked of.
I am met by a phalanx of police officers, sneering at me when I enter the room.
I know this tactic. I have seen it often enough. It’s meant to intimidate, to
obstruct. The meeting lasts but a few minutes. They march out en masse,
protesting that I have raised “a land issue”.

Our guardians the police
have failed us. They have abandoned their moral and lawful duty. When we see
them on the beat, we do not see a friendly “Bobby” upholding our safety. We see
a betrayal of what is right. They are systematically taking away our livelihood,
dividing and distributing what already exists to those who cannot use it. In the
end, there are only losers.

SequelThe High Court in Harare granted us
a provisional order on November 21 2005 — two days after the seizures,
compelling the Zimbabwe Republic Police to return all our equipment immediately.
The final order was made by the high court on December 2 last year. Nothing has
been returned. The police distributed the equipment among themselves and party
hacks. They have removed it out of Chiredzi and are now in contempt of
court.

Government Lands Officer Mukonyora arrived at the yard gate on
January 6. Imperiously waiving a sheet of paper, he demanded entry in order to
seize the premises including the workshops, and to hand our homestead over to a
Miss Matsvayi, a “favoured new lady-farmer”. Would it be reprisal? The brave
security guard sent them
packing.

ZANU PF pushes to ban council elections

Zim Online

Tue 17 January
2006

HARARE - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU PF party is pushing for new
legislation to ban elections for urban councils and instead allow the
government to appoint commissions headed by chief executive officers to run
cities and towns, authoritative sources told ZimOnline.

The
party, which has absolute control of Parliament and can pass any laws it so
wishes, has repeatedly lost all elections in major cities to the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party since the opposition party was
formed six years ago.

But the governing party has regained control
in the capital Harare and in the cities of Chitungwiza and Mutare when Local
Government Minister Ignatius Chombo dismissed the elected councils and
appointed pro-ZANU PF commissioners to run the
cities.

The sources said Chombo and other
hardliners in ZANU PF were now pushing for the amendment of the Urban
Councils Act to allow the government and not residents and ratepayers to
determine who should run cities.

"The only way for ZANU PF to
retain influence and power in major cities at least in the near foreseeable
future is when the government is allowed to appoint its own people to run
the cities and this is the plan that is under discussion," said a senior
government official, who declined to be named.

The official
said the proposed plan to ban urban council elections had not yet been
formally submitted before President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet, adding that the
move would become law once and if the 81-year old President okayed
it.

"Cabinet has not yet formally been presented with the proposal
for approval but we all know that once Mugabe says yes, then there shall be
no resistance," he said.

According to the official, ZANU PF
legal affairs secretary and state Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has
however voiced strong reservations about the proposed move to bar residents
from choosing town councils.

Chinamasa is said to have advised the
ruling party's inner politburo committee, when it appeared the key committee
would endorse the plan, that Zimbabwe would be the only country in the world
to outlaw local government elections and that such a move would entrench the
view that the country was a dictatorship.

"Chinamasa argued
that Chombo should look for other ways of strengthening government control
on opposition-run councils without necessarily scrapping elections," said
another source, who also did not want to be named.

Chinamasa
could not be reached for comment on the matter yesterday, while Chombo would
neither confirm nor deny whether ZANU PF was considering using its
parliamentary majority to push through new legislation to ban urban council
elections.

But the Local Government Minister ominously warned that
government was planning to take greater control of cities, claiming
opposition-led councils were inept.

He said: "We have realised
that most of these MDC people running our councils are inept. From now on my
ministry will take a bigger role in ensuring that our people do not suffer
in towns like they were doing under MDC-led councils."

Under
the proposed new regulations that Chombo and other ZANU PF hardliners want
in place before year-end, the post of a popularly elected executive mayor
will be abolished. Instead town clerks, at present the most senior council
employees, will be elevated to chief executive officers and tasked with the
day-to-day management of cities.

In the place of elected
councillors, the minister of local government would be empowered to appoint
commissioners reporting to him directly. The minister will have the power to
fire or suspend commissioners and town chief executives for misconduct or
incompetence.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said while the
opposition party could not stop ZANU PF from amending the law to ban urban
council elections due to its inferior numbers in Parliament, the opposition
party would however mobilise residents to resist such a move.

He said: "Mugabe has become afraid of the people's voice. Dictators do not
give people rights to vote, they take them away. But because we can no
longer use the ballot to have our say, we shall use the streets to reclaim
our rights and freedoms." - ZimOnline

Mugabe batters Zimbabwe media into submission

Zim Online

Tue 17
January 2006

HARARE - Zimbabwe witnessed a decline in media
violations over the past 12 months but this was more an indicator of how
the Harare government has successfully clamped down on journalists and
newspapers, a leading regional Press rights watchdog has said.

In a report on the state of the media in Zimbabwe in 2005, the local chapter
of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said declining incidents of
harassment of journalists and newspaper companies was not a sign President
Robert Mugabe's government had grown more tolerant of independent and robust
journalism.

There were fewer journalists arrested or newspapers
forced to close down simply because most of the more critical newspapers
have already been shut down by the government over the years while at least
90 journalists including some of Zimbabwe's most prominent journalists have
fled the government's tough Press laws into exile, according to
MISA.

"Cases of media violations declined during the year under
review not because the government had mellowed but owing to the absence of
the highly critical ANZ publications," MISA said in the report released at
the weekend.

ANZ or Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe published the
country's biggest circulating and only privately owned daily newspaper, the
Daily News. The paper and its sister publication, the Daily News on Sunday,
were shut down and their equipment seized by armed police in September 2003
because they had not registered with the government's Media and Information
Commission.

MISA said although the number of media rights
violations had declined, the pattern of harassment and ill-treatment of the
Press had remained the same as in previous years.

The media
rights group particularly noted the enactment last June of the Criminal Law
Codification Act that imposes harsher penalties of up to 20 years in jail
for publishing falsehoods that may injure the national or public
interest.

MISA said: "While the cases may have declined, the trend
of the violations was similar to that of the previous year, 2004, as
witnessed by the Media and Information Commission's (MIC) closure in
February 2005 of The Weekly Times in a sequel to the closure of The Tribune
in June 2004, almost a year after the ANZ publications had met a similar
fate."

It said that the passing of the Criminal Act would make it
increasingly difficult for the country's few remaining independent
journalists and newspapers to report without fear.

Before the
new law, Zimbabwean journalists faced up to five years in jail for
publishing false information. Journalists could also be jailed for up to two
years for ridiculing Mugabe in their articles.

Section 31 (a) of
the new Act imposes a maximum jail term of 20 years on anyone either inside
or outside Zimbabwe who publishes or communicates to any person a statement
which is wholly or materially false with the intention or realising that
there is real risk or possibility of inciting or promoting public disorder
or public violence or endangering public safety or adversely affecting the
defence or economic interests of Zimbabwe.

MISA also notes the
existence of tough broadcasting laws that have made it virtually impossible
for investors to invest in the electronic media leaving a large majority of
Zimbabweans with only the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings as
their only source of radio and television news.

Although the
Harare administration was always intolerant of independent journalism, it
only stepped up its campaign of repression against the media around 1999
when the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party emerged as the
first real threat to Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party's grip on
power.

The World Association of Newspapers rates the southern
African country among the worst three places for journalists in the world.
The other two are the former Soviet Union republic of Uzbekistan and the
Islamic Republic of Iran. - ZimOnline

Three Zimbabwean spies denied bail

Zim Online

Tue 17 January
2006

HARARE - Zimbabwean High Court Judge Bharat Patel yesterday
denied bail to two senior officials of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU
PF party and a banker convicted of espionage, saying they were likely to
abscond if let out of prison.

The three, diplomat Godfrey
Dzvairo, ZANU PF external affairs director Itai Marchi and banker Tendai
Matambanadzo were sentenced to a total 16 years in prison for allegedly
violating the Official Secrets Act.

The three men have appealed
against both conviction and sentence. Their appeal is expected to be heard
at the end of the month but they had in the meanwhile applied to the court
to be released on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.

But
Patel said there was little prospect that the three men's appeal would
succeed, adding that this made the possibility of them skipping bail high
because this was the only way they could avoid a prolonged stay in
jail.

The judge said the men had hard cash stashed outside the
country and had built a network of contacts with foreign agents making it
easy for them to flee out of the country.

Dzvairo, Matambanadzo
and Marchi were arrested following the arrest of former ZANU PF Mashonaland
West provincial chairman Phillip Chiyangwa on similar allegations in
2004.

Also arrested on similar allegations was ruling party deputy
security director Kenny Karidza.

Charges against Chiyangwa were
later withdrawn by the High Court, while Dzvairo, Marchi and Matambanadzo
were convicted and jailed for varying terms of up to six years
each.

Karidza is still on trial at the magistrate courts in Harare
and is on $1 million bail. - ZimOnline

Quiet Diplomacy
Beits

Financial Mail SA

13 January 2006

"By doing
nothing, our government has given Robert Mugabe its tacit approval to
continue his destructive ways"

John Gawler, Lynnwood Ridge.

Just before Christmas I had the misfortune of going through the Beit Bridge
border post to Zimbabwe. As a result I had plenty of time to observe and
ponder the outcome of the "quiet diplomacy" our government is pursuing with
President Robert Mugabe.

The majority of people in the queues
were Zimbabweans who had left because of Mugabe's land redistribution and
the resultant job losses on commercial farms, and the subsequent collapse of
the economy and the closure of numerous businesses. This, coupled with the
recent demolition of informal traders' businesses has led to many
Zimbabweans moving to SA to seek work, legal and illegal.

Judging from a number of people I was able to speak to in customs, as well
as fellow travellers, there were literally hundreds of thousands of people
returning home on an unprecedented scale at Beit Bridge.

What
effect has this had on SA? The answer is lengthy and debatable but, simply
put, the net effect is that they are taking jobs from South Africans,
creating a huge market for illegal documents, and indulging in
crime.

Sure, there are a lot of honest, hard-working people
from Zimbabwe, but imagine if our government's "quiet diplomacy" were a lot
more forceful (in much the same way it was with Ian Smith when Zimbabwe was
still Rhodesia). If, instead of doing nothing, as government is now doing,
it were able to force Mugabe to stand down or change his destructive
policies, and recreate the thriving economy the country once had, and
gainfully employ Zimbabweans in Zimbabwe. SA could reduce its own
unemployment and crime.

Instead, by doing nothing, we have
given Mugabe our tacit approval to continue his destructive ways to the
detriment of both countries. Our leaders need to stand up and do what needs
to be done to neighbouring leaders who destroy their countries, otherwise SA
will also become a basket case.

Zimbabwe govt to takeover fertiliser firms - paper

Reuters

Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:25 AM GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - The Zimbabwe government
plans to takeover the country's three fertiliser companies in what officials
say will complement its controversial land reforms, the state-run Herald
newspaper reported on Monday.

Fertiliser, a key input in agriculture,
has been in short supply in the past few years as the country battles food
shortages which critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's government'
seizures of land from white commercial farmers.

Mugabe's government
has in the past criticised fertilizer firms for failing to produce enough to
meet farmers' demands but the firms argue that foreign currency shortages,
one sign of a six-year economic crisis, have hit output.

The acquisition
of the companies would ensure the government controls the production and
distribution of the commodity.

The newspaper said the government would
pay 1.5 trillion Zimbabwe dollars for shareholding in the three firms.
Christian Katsande, secretary for Industry and International Trade said
"funds for this purpose have been made available by
government".

Katsande was unavailable for further comment on Monday but
the Herald quoted a letter from another official in the Ministry informing
the companies that the sale agreement should be concluded by January
20.

Mugabe denies charges his policies are responsible for changing the
former bread basket into a basket case and instead accuses former colonial
power Britain of leading a western drive to sabotage the economy in
retaliation for the land seizures.

Asylum seekers offered cash to go back home

By Tererai
Karimakwenda 16 January 2006

The UK Immigration department
has embarked on a new campaign to reduce the numbers of asylum cases and
perhaps save on the costs of detaining and deporting failed cases. The
latest news is that the Home Office is offering failed asylum seekers money
to drop their cases. According to reports, 54,000 letters went out to failed
asylum seekers offering them £3000 each to leave the UK. The scheme was
formally announced in a written Ministerial Statement by the Immigration
minister Tony McNulty on Thursday, 12th January 2006. Claimants who applied
before 31st December 2005 have 6 months to withdraw their asylum claims or
withdraw their appeal.

Sarah Harland, an activist dealing with
Zimbabwean refugees at the Zimbabwe Association, said the offer is directed
at a number of different nationalities. She said genuine asylum seekers who
already suffered torture or abuse in Zimbabwe might not be persuaded by this
because no amount of money can guarantee safety. But those who came to the
UK for less serious reasons might think of accepting the offer. Harland
believes since the deadline to decide is in May, Zimbabweans may want to
wait in case the situation stabilizes by then. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are
not to be removed by force due a tribunal ruling last October that concluded
that returnees were not safe.

It is a known fact that in some
countries, failed asylum seekers are put in prison on return and are
released only if they pay a bribes. Public announcements of the money offer
also serve to inform the perpetrators that returnees can afford to pay for
their freedom. The Home Office described the money as 'increased
reintegration assistance' meant to help returnees to resettle in their
country of origin. The new term 'Incentivising' has even been coined for
this new campaign.

Critics say the offer is misguided and
dangerous. The National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns ( NCADC) is
reported to have said a sylum seekers from such places as DR Congo, Somalia
and Uganda who are living in hardship and destitution in the UK, may see
this 'incentive' as an 'Immediate' way out of their suffering. They believe
it would be far better if the Home Office spent the proposed £6.2 million
for the scheme in setting

up an independent Country Assessment
Unit, better training of adjudicators, and electronic monitoring in place of
detention .

Mortuary crisis hits the nation

Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Paidamoyo
Chipunzaissue date :2006-Jan-16

The country has been hit by a
shortage of space to accommodate bodies at mortuaries due to failure to
upgrade the existing ones, in addition to a high death rate.At least 2
500 people die countrywide due to HIV and Aids alone, while other diseases
considerably contribute to the deaths that are occurring.Most of the
mortuaries around Zimbabwe are failing to cope with the number of bodies
because they were constructed to cater for small numbers of bodies.Some
of them were constructed way back in the 1960s and have not been enlarged in
keeping with the growing numbers of people who are dying.Morgues,
particularly in the small towns, were constructed with carrying capacities
ranging from three to around 20- a figure that falls far short of the number
of deaths occurring daily.These mortuaries include the ones at Mvurwi,
Mvuma, Ngomahuru, Chivi, Beitbridge and Murehwa district hospitals, as well
as provincial hospitals such as Bindura, Marondera, Masvingo and
Gweru.Murehwa Hospital has a carrying capacity of three bodies, Marondera
27, Masvingo General Hospital 17, while Beitbridge was designed to carry
six.However, all these hospitals are now forced to accommodate up to 40
bodies,

resulting in a heavy stench coming from the
mortuaries.Most of the bodies will be awaiting pauper burials. It is feared
that some relatives are failing to collect the bodies of their departed
relatives because of prohibitive burial costs.In Murehwa and Gweru,
reconstruction is underway, but there are complaints that the process is
taking too long to complete.The Mvurwi Hospital mortuary in Mashonaland
Central which broke down in 2000 is yet to be repaired, but authorities at
the institution continue to pile bodies up in the morgue, The Daily Mirror
has learnt.Information at hand is that the mortuary ceased functioning when
one Micklean, a white farmer who used to service the mortuary, left the
area.After that, the refrigerators and other equipment broke down and no one
took over the servicing of the mortuary.Apolonia Mugavazi, whose
relative passed away at the hospital a fortnight ago, said their option is
Howard Mission Hospital, which is about 110 kilometres away from
Mvurwi.She said because of the crisis, most people were burying their
relatives soon after the death, sometimes without bothering to take them to
the mortuary for post mortems.Mugavazi said she collected her relative's
body from the mortuary the same day he died, but it already smelled because
of the state of the mortuary."The state (of the mortuary) is not pleasing at
all. When we collected the body there were three more bodies in the
mortuary, which had already decomposed and were producing a very strong
odour," said Mugavazi.A senior official at the hospital who refused to be
named citing protocol confirmed that the mortuary was not
operating."Mune makonye asingaite uyezve muchinhuhwa. Patova nenguva
yakareba zvakangodaro (There are maggots in the disused mortuary and the
place stinks. The situation has been like that for a long time)," she
said.Morgues in major cities are also affected, with authorities seemingly
failing to find a lasting solution.Contacted for comment, the Deputy
Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Edwin Muguti acknowledged that there
was a mortuary crisis in the country.He said: "The issue of malfunctioning
mortuaries is a nationwide problem affecting many district and general
hospitals. Plans to rehabilitate all hospital mortuaries are
underway."Muguti bemoaned the situation at Mvurwi District Hospital, saying
it was regrettable.He, however, urged the institution to encourage
community members to bury their relatives before bodies decomposed."In
other areas where there are no mortuaries, bodies are buried as soon as
possible before they decompose," added Muguti.During the Zanu PF
people's conference held in Esigodini last month, delegates agreed to
construct and rehabilitate existing mortuaries in district and mission
hospitals.The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare was challenged to
construct mortuaries with at least a carrying capacity of 108 bodies
each.The Minister of Finance, Herbert Murerwa, allocated Z$655,2 billion in
the 2005-2006 national budget for the construction and rehabilitation of
facilities at State hospitals and rural health centres.

Water cuts expose residents to
cholera

Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Chief Reporterissue date :2006-Jan-16

A wave of water
cuts has once again hit the capital city, ironically amid the heavy
downpours the country is currently enjoying.

Residents interviewed
yesterday criticised the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) for
cutting water supplies at a time the country is gripped by a cholera
outbreak that has so far claimed three lives in Glen View 8.A snap
survey by The Daily Mirror revealed that water taps in some of the city's
western suburbs that include Highfield, Budiriro, Glen View, Glen Norah and
Mufakose have been dry since Saturday.In Glen Norah C, residents could be
seen scooping water from the numerous pools in the suburb to use for washing
and toilet purposes.Residents expressed the fear that the untimely cuts
would expose them to contagious water-borne diseases such as
cholera.They complained that water supplies had been discontinued without
warning and as a result, they had not been able to build stores to fall back
on.Ginny Muchenje of Budiriro 5A said: "The water supplies were cut in the
afternoon between 2pm and 3pm (on Saturday) and today (Sunday) we woke up to
find the taps still dry. We had no chance to bath or wash our clothes and
clean dishes. That encourages the spread of cholera already causing havoc in
the city."He said their plight was worsened by the fact that there were
no nearby alternative sources of the precious liquid in the area."We are
just sleeping hungry because we cannot cook without water. Most people are
not sure what to do with their children who are complaining of hunger
because they haven't eaten anything since yesterday," he added.The Daily
Mirror witnessed long queues in some of the suburbs as residents jostled for
water at strategic places like clinics and schools which were spared the
agony of water cuts. Others were walking long distances from Budiriro 5,
for example, to fetch water at the district council offices in Budiriro
1.Herbert Chikozho of Glen View said the situation in his area was
critical."It's an embarrassment; it is selfish and inconsiderate for these
people (Zinwa) to have decided to cut off water supplies just like that.
People cannot use toilets or wash their clothes. It's a pity for those
families with babies as they cannot wash the napkins," he said.Chikozho
said Glen View residents had since resorted to footing to as far as Amalinda
Road to collect water from an unprotected well at the council-owned Churu
School Farm.A Mufakose woman berated city authorities for closing water
supplies without notifying residents on time and hoped the situation would
be back to normal before a major disaster occurred.She said: "We are
worried because of the rains and the refuse that has not been collected for
sometime now. With garbage piling up, this is a recipe for disaster. They
should have told us in advance so that we would have prepared. Right now
people are going as far as Budiriro in search of water. The situation is so
bad."Onias Jeremiah of Glen Norah A said: "It's unbelievable that there are
some people who have died from cholera yet water supplies are just cut off
like that."The water cuts come at a time when the city is battling with
a cholera outbreak that has claimed three family members while 14 others
have been hospitalised at Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases
Hospital.Recently, residents of Warren Park D had to resort to ferrying
water from the nearby Warren Hills cemetery following similar
cuts.Although no official comment could be obtained, Zinwa recently
announced the temporary closure of Morton Jaffray Water Treatment plant to
clean the city's water reservoirs.Zinwa indicated that the water cuts
would be in phases, as this would affect water demand management, adding the
city's water situation would be severe because water levels in reservoirs
were very low.The authority, which took over provision of water services
from the local authority late last year, said the cleaning process would
remove sludge and other objects from reservoirs.The city's water tanks
were reportedly last cleaned in 2002.Zinwa could not be reached to comment
on the new water cuts.

Minister's housing programme fails to take
off

Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Sydney Kawadza Chief Reporterissue date
:2006-Jan-16

EDUCATION minister Aeneas Chigwedere's housing programme,
launched amid pomp and funfair in Harare, Marondera, Kadoma, Rusape and
Chipinge, in 2002 seems to have died a natural death with 'beneficiaries'
concerned about their contribution.

The housing project, launched
during campaigns for the 2002 presidential elections, was expected to
benefit civil servants among them teachers in their quest to get housing
stands in urban areas.Some of the civil servants who contributed towards the
scheme have complained that despite making contributions from the inception
of the programme, nothing tangible has been achieved.A member of the
Gwindingwi housing scheme in Harare who declined being named said Chigwedere
launched the scheme at the city sports centre but no stands have been made
available since then."The scheme was launched by Chigwedere who is the
patron together with the Minister of Local Government and representatives
from the Harare City Council on February 24, 2002."We contributed $25
000 for the scheme with an initial payment of $5 000 while the rest was paid
in instalments but nothing has come up three years down the line," he said.
The housing scheme was the fourth project that was launched after the
introduction of similar projects in Marondera, Rusape and
Kadoma.Chigwedere was expected to launch another project in
Chipinge.The project in Harare was, however, faced with a major problem when
there was no land for the project after the allocated space was eventually
assigned to another housing project.In his correspondence to the late
Witness Mangwende, who was then resident minister for Harare metropolitan
province, Chigwedere revealed that the project account reflected about $30
million by September 2004.The project has about 2 500 members in
Harare.Another member of the Mukanyaushe housing scheme in Marondera
confirmed that he had contributed his monthly $25 000 through a Zimbank
account but was not aware of the latest developments."We paid our
contribution with an initial one of $5 000 payment but we are not sure of
the future of the project and some people have since lost hope with the
project," he said.He added that most members had been allocated stand
numbers but nothing has been done on the ground as far as the service of
stands is concerned.No comment could be obtained from Chigwedere, who late
last week was said to be in his constituency.

Judge Paradza Fled To SA

Zim Daily

Monday, January
16 2006 @ 12:05 AM GMT Contributed by:
correspondent

High Court judge Benjamin Paradza left the
country aboard a heavy cargo truck Tuesday, days before appearing before
Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe facing corruption charges. The judge who was
convicted the previous day and was awaiting sentencing fled the country via
the Beitbridge boarder post, sources close to the family told
Zimdaily.

The High Court Thursday issued a warrant of arrest
against the convicted Judge Paradza after he failed to turn up for
sentencing Thursday. Sources said the judge new the fate that awaited him
hence the decision to abscond. "His family knew about this and he was
actually welcomed by Judge Majutru who also fled the country after handing
down the Daily News judgement," the source told Zimdaily. The presiding
judge Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe immediately ordered the arrest of the
convicted judge after he breached bail conditions.

Justice Mutambanengwe issued the warrant of arrest after court officials
called paradza's name thrice, according to normal procedures. He also
ordered that the warrant of arrest be faxed to all airports and border posts
serving the republic of Zimbabwe and ordered that his bail be forfeited to
the state provisionally. Paradza was supposed to turn up to the court for
mitigation, aggravation and sentence but failed and his lawyers indicated
that they had no information regarding the whereabouts of the convicted
judge.

Paradza was convicted of corruption charges after he
was found guilty of inciting fellow judges, Justice Maphios Cheda and
Justice George Chiweshe to release the passport of his safari hunting
partner Russel Labuschagne. He was also acquitted of attempting to defeat
the court of justice. Paradza who denied the charges claiming that he did
not corruptly influence his colleagues to release the passport of his
business partner was arrested in 2003. His business partner, Labuschagne,
who murdered a man after finding him poaching fish at his fishing camp has
since been convicted and jailed for 15 years.

Zanu PF To Splash Z$10 billion On President Mugabe's
Birthday

Zim Daily

Monday, January 16 2006 @ 12:04 AM GMT
Contributed by: correspondent President Robert Mugabe is due to
celebrate his 82nd birthday in Manicaland province next month with
unrestrained pomp and fanfare amid reports that his ruling Zanu PF party
would splash a staggering Z$10 billion on the birthday bash. Despite a sea
of troubles engulfing the country, Mugabe showed no signs of being willing
to retire after 26 years in power, throwing in his name for the 2008
presidential race following the failure of his protege Joice Mujuru to
garner support in his ruling party. Analysts attributed Mugabe's bid to
cling to power to his belief that authoritarian methods were actually
working for him.

The ruling party's Youth League concluded a
meeting Friday where they agreed that this year's celebrations were supposed
to be unique in that it came in the backdrop of the passage of the despotic
17th constitutional amendment, "which has refined democracy and removed
impediments to the land reform." Zanu PF Youth Affairs chief Absalom
Skhosana told journalists a the end of the meeting: "We are looking forward
to raising at least $10 billion for this year's event and everything is
expected to move smoothly."

But observers said it was
appalling for Mugabe to celebrate his birthday with fanfare in the midst of
a deep political and economic crisis. University of Zimbabwe political
scientist John Makumbe said: "It's a depressing situation. Things are
collapsing around us. Everything which can go wrong has gone wrong but he is
celebrating," Makumbe said. "Unemployment and poverty are rampant.
Repression is worsening. Political temperatures are rising and the situation
once again will soon reach boiling point."

One such victim of
repression is the National Constitutional Assembly chairman, Lovemore
Madhuku, who has repeatedly been brutally assaulted by armed police and left
for dead. He said: "It is shocking that Mugabe plans to splash $10 billion
on his birthday when the country is in flames. The situation is worsening,"
Madhuku told Zimdaily. "The brutality has become so obvious that it is now
futile to deny it. Authoritarianism is being heightened."

Mugabe's birthday party, organised annually under the aegis of Zanu-PF's
21st February Movement, came as the situation in the country
deteriorated. Zimdaily understands that the official
celebrations were planned for Mutare, but across the country there is still
little or no cheer at all for ordinary Zimbabweans, with Mugabe showing no
signs of mellowing with age. Zimdaily understands the birthday would be
celebrated in grand style.

Tekere Officially Back At Zanu PF

Zim Daily

Monday,
January 16 2006 @ 12:00 AM GMT Contributed by:
Reporter In a 'if you can't beat them join them' fashion,
founding member of the ruling Zanu PF party, Edgar Tekere has bounced back
at the unpopular party. Tekere, popularly known as 'Twoboy' was, on Saturday
accepted back at his former party after sixteen years of 'divorce'. Zanu
PF's Manicaland provincial chairman, Tinaye Chigudu announced Tekere's
comeback.

Tekere made his intentions of a possible comeback
known before the senate elections. He was, however barred from contesting in
the plebiscite on a Zanu PF ticket. Analysts say, Tekere's sudden appearance
before the senate poll was a 'calculated political move to enjoy the opulent
benefits of senators'.

The Mutare based veteran
politician however brushed Zanu PF reports that he had applied for his
return. He said, instead, the party persuaded him to rejoin the
revolutionary party. The sixty nine (69) year old politician said he intends
to be more active in politics.

"I just want to be more active
in politics, that's all", Tekere said in an interview before the senate
election

Tekere crossed paths with his erstwhile friend,
Robert Mugabe to form the now defunct Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) in the
late 1980s. He contested in the 1990 presidential elections, but failed to
make a mark.

Support for Tekere's comeback

HARARE
- Leaders of President Robert Mugabe's governing party in the eastern
Manicaland province have urged the readmission of a maverick politician who
once stood for the presidency, state radio reported.

Edgar Tekere,
who was secretary-general of Zanu (PF) at Zimbabwe's 1980 independence, was
expelled from the party in 1988 for his outspoken condemnation of unpunished
corruption and of Mugabe's plans for a one-party state.

He was
defeated by Mugabe in the 1990 presidential elections.

Saturday's
recommendation of Tekere's home province has to be endorsed by Mugabe's
highest party policy- making body, the 40-member national Politburo, to take
effect.

Tekere, the notoriously mercurial son of an Anglican priest, is
one of the longest-serving veterans of the struggle for black rule in
Zimbabwe.

He founded the short-lived Zimbabwe Unity Movement, which won
20% of the vote in 1990 parliamentary and presidential polls but gained only
three parliamentary seats due to Zimbabwe's first-past-the-post electoral
system.

Tekere's supporters faced a wave of violence from ruling-party
activists and security forces, with Mugabe himself declaring: "If whites in
Zimbabwe want to rear their ugly terrorist and racist head by collaborating
with the Zimbabwe Unity Movement, we will chop that head
off."

Former close friends, Tekere and Mugabe fled together from the
then Rhodesia into newly independent Mozambique in 1975 to join guerillas
fighting to end white rule.

Briefly appointed manpower development
minister upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Tekere was cleared on a
technicality of the murder of a white farmer.

He led an invasion by
Zanu (PF) militants of Mutare's Anglican Cathedral, when worshippers were
assaulted and the altar defiled.

However, he broke with Mugabe in October
1988, saying "there is a very clear trend to repression and
dictatorship".

He stood aloof from the formation of the Movement for
Democratic Change in 1999.

The second interview

Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:49 AM

Subject: The second interview

Dear All

You may remember the link that I sent to
you the other day, about the poetry competition...several people have responded
to me about how excellent it was. Now here is the interview with the winner of
the contest, Zayra Yves. It is a good thing to listen to it as a continuity
exercise, but it also stands alone (as the first interview does) as a indication
that people really care. Go to the SW Radio Africa site, www.swradioafrica.com and at the top of
the page select "archives". Once there, all you have to do is select Friday's
13th January archive and click on the program called "Outside Looking
In".

I don't care whether you are male or
female, but have your tissues or handkerchiefs ready. To hear this lady
interviewed and then read out her poem made me weep, and as a man, I am not
ashamed to say this. The first interview had the same effect. There are people
who really care out there, and I will never think again that nobody wants to
have anything to do with us.

Alleged mercenaries appear in court today

Eight alleged South African mercenaries are expected to appear in
the Pretoria High Court this morning.

The men face a charge of
contravening the regulations of the Foreign Military Assistance Act,
relating to an alleged plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial
Guinea.

Sixty-one alleged mercenaries were released from Zimbabwe's
Chikurubi maximum security prison outside Harare in May last year, where
they spent a year after being convicted of violating Zimbabwe's immigration,
aviation, firearms and security laws.

MDC faction sets conditions for reuniting
party

New Zimbabwe

By Staff ReporterLast updated: 01/16/2006
12:35:22PROFESSOR Welshman Ncube, one of the leaders of the pro-Senate
faction of the MDC appeared to offer prospects of bringing together the two
sides.He said: "We know that many people across the country are upset by the
division in the party. From Gokwe, to Nkayi to Mutoko people have told us
their anguish. They have said the MDC was our only hope. The MDC was our
only way out of the Mugabe madness.

"Men and women have come to us
literally in tears. We have agonised long and hard over the division. But we
found that if we support peaceful, democratic change in Zimbabwe, how do we
make accommodation with what Morgan is saying?"

Ncube then outlined
three conditions for reuniting the two sides. They say that Tsvangirai must
agree to: abide by the party¹s democratic constitution and accept collective
decision-making; embrace non-violence as a core principle and refuse to use
the coercion of militia; and consult with the party elected officials when
making decisions, not seek the opinions of a kitchen cabinet of unelected
officials and then overrule decisions of the National Executive and announce
the decision as a fait accompli.

Ncube said: "We need to demonstrate
democracy to regain the confidence of the people. We cannot accept an all
powerful president of the party who does what he likes. That is like Mugabe.
We still hope to reach an accommodation."

But he appeared to send a
different signal when he said their faction had tentatively set 25 February
as the date for their congress. He did not indicate the venue. Tsvangirai's
faction is reportedly planning its congress for 18 and 19 March.

On
Thursday, Ncube and Gibson Sibanda, Tsvangirai's deputy, accused their
longtime leader of condoning violence, undermining democracy and adopting
the authoritarian style of the man they once hoped he would unseat,
President Robert Mugabe.

The withering critique of Tsvangirai came
during interviews with reporters in South Africa.

Ncube and Sibanda
charged that Tsvangirai's office coordinated violent attacks in May on party
staff members viewed as loyal to Ncube. In October, they said, Tsvangirai
violated the party's constitution when he ignored a vote by its ruling
council to participate in national senate elections, which he wanted to
boycott. Ncube, who is secretary general of the party, said that after years
of opposing Mugabe, Tsvangirai began to "admire the monster" and emulate his
ruthless ways.

Sibanda, who was Tsvangirai's vice president but is now
acting president of the faction that opposes him, said that if Tsvangirai
were ever elected president of Zimbabwe, he would become a "serious"
dictator.

"This is a clash of values," Ncube said. "It is a direct clash
over the soul of the party." The two leaders also said Tsvangirai's inner
circle has been infiltrated by at least one officer of Zimbabwe's feared
Central Intelligence Organization, which has fomented dissension within the
party.

Tsvangirai, speaking from Zimbabwe's capital of Harare, declined
to respond to the allegations about his leadership style or his alleged role
in attacks on party staffers.

The rise of the Movement for Democratic
Change six years ago heralded the arrival of vigorous two-party politics in
Zimbabwe after years of unchallenged autonomy for Mugabe, 81. Just a few
months after forming, the opposition successfully blocked constitutional
changes favored by Mugabe. The movement narrowly lost elections in 2000 and
2002 that were marred by state-sponsored violence and judged by most outside
observers to be rigged.

In March elections, also denounced by many
outsiders as fixed, Mugabe's ruling party won by a wide margin. But in
recent months, the opposition has crumbled into rival factions, with
Tsvangirai and others battling each other rather than Mugabe. "Any party
goes through these kinds of turbulences, but it's not the end of the world,"
Tsvangirai said.

He admitted that he had failed to organize protests
against Mugabe, as he has repeatedly promised in recent months, but said
that would begin after the party's national congress in March. The side led
by Ncube and Sibanda also plans to have its own party congress, in a
separate location and at a separate time, the men said.

Ncube and
Sibanda, meanwhile, said the infighting has paralyzed both factions of the
opposition, making it impossible to mount any challenge to Mugabe. "All that
is suffering at the moment while we are bickering," Ncube said - additional
reporting Washington Post

Cabinet taskforce set up to probe
smuggling of maize seed

African News Dimension

and cement

Monday, 16 January 2006, 5
hours, 12 minutes and 2 seconds ago.

By ANDnetwork
Journalist

A THREE-member Cabinet team has been set up to assist in
the probe of the recently foiled smuggling of maize seed and cement worth
more than $10 billion to Zambia through the Victoria Falls border, amid
fears that the transfer of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority manager based at the
border might jeopardise the investigations, Sunday News learnt this
week.

The foiled export of the seeds came at a time when the
country through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was mobilizing resources to
purchase inputs for the current farming season to ensure a productive
agricultural season and food security.

A Cabinet source told
the Sunday News this week that the probe team that comprises officials from
the Ministries of Home Affairs, Agriculture, and Industry and International
Trade, was set up before the close of Cabinet business last year. The
country has in recent years faced an acute shortage of farming inputs and
the majority of them have been resurfacing at the black market.

The Cabinet team, the source said, was set up when there were suspicions
that some "highly influential officials" are involved in the smuggling
ring.

Reliable sources who have been part of the initial
investigations revealed to the Sunday News that the recipient of the seeds
on the Zambian side was also a "big business mogul". "When we got
to Zambia, we had difficulties in making the police approach the
man.

You could detect fear amongst them. He is one of the big fish
in that country," said the source, adding that it was highly possible that
the suspect could have been working in cahoots with some "big man" in
Zimbabwe.

At the moment, the National Railways of Zimbabwe station
manager for Victoria Falls, Mr Allen Mpofu has so far been questioned by
police in Victoria Falls on allegations of having played a role in the
scam.

Two other ZIMRA officials have also appeared in court for
facilitating the deal. The smuggling of maize seed was raised in
Cabinet, leading to the tasking of the three ministries to look into the
issue.

The Cabinet probe team was tasked to get to the bottom of
the smuggling case. Recently, there have been a number of cases involving
haulage trucks caught with concealed consignments of controlled
commodities.

The cases have only gone as far as arresting the
drivers, but not to the extent of exposing the source of the commodities in
question. The recent transfer of the ZIMRA manager based in Victoria Falls,
a Mr Selamolela, has raised fears, in so far as the investigations are
concerned.

Contacted for comment this week, ZIMRA communications
manager, Miss Priscilla Sadomba confirmed the recent transfers of some of
the managers.

"ZIMRA would like to confirm that the transfers are
in line with the Authority's human resources policy and there have been
transfers of both management and staff in the organisation. This is a normal
procedure, which has been in operation since ZIMRA's inception on 1
September 2001.

"We are still in the process of finalising the
transfers and therefore not in a position to furnish you with finer details
pertaining to the transfers. We will however be in position to furnish you
with information as soon as we complete the process," she said in written
responses to the Sunday News.

Even though ZIMRA could not
release the names of the managers who were transferred, the Sunday News is
reliable informed that the transferred managers included one Mr Selamolela
who was based in Victoria Falls.

He has since been moved to the
Midlands and would be based in Kwekwe. A Mr Majokojoko, who was based in
Plumtree, has also been transferred and Mrs Jennifer Chitva replaced
him.

The regional manager for Matabeleland, Mr Robert Mangwiro has
also been transferred and is to be replaced by one Mr Mujuru. In the
statement, ZIMRA insisted that the transfers would not affect the
investigations.

"Thank you very much for your noble efforts and
would like to assure you that the action taken will not in any way prejudice
the investigations in progress and our operations," read part of the
statement.

MDC rebels attack 'Mugabe-like' Tsvangirai

A
DISSIDENT faction of Zimbabwe's main opposition, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), has accused the party's embattled leader, Morgan Tsvangirai,
of using violence, intimidation and "Mugabe-like" tactics to retain
control.

The accusations come ahead of next month's party conference,
which is likely to see the party finally split.

A dissident faction
said on Friday that it would soon hold its own party congress. The splinter
group is led by MDC deputy president Gibson Sibanda and secretary-general
Welshman Ncube. Ncube said on Friday his group would not reconcile with
Tsvangirai, who has led the party since it was founded in 1999.

The
MDC, which has posed the biggest challenge to President Robert Mugabe's
25-year rule, has been in turmoil since it split into two factions after a
disagreement over participation in last year's senate polls.

Sibanda
and Ncube last week accused Tsvangirai of using what they call "Mugabe-type"
tactics of violence, intimidation and undemocratic behaviour to stay in
power.

Visiting SA last week, Ncube also said that Tsvangirai was
using a "cheap and dangerous" ethnic card to mobilise support ahead of the
conference, by painting opposition as an "Ndebele rebellion". Tsvangirai is
a Shona, whereas Sibanda and Ncube are Ndebele.

Sibanda and Ncube
were in Johannesburg this week to speak to local branches and diplomats.
Their remarks come ahead of a national congress of Ncube's group in late
February or early March, which would appoint new members of the MDC
executive committee, including the job of party president.

Ncube said the
MDC's challenge was to build a society different from the one Mugabe had
established, and focus instead on nonviolence and democratic
decision-making.

Tsvangirai, who has strong grassroots support in
Zimbabwe, has called his own congress in March, where analysts speculate he
will seek the expulsion of Ncube's group. If Tsvangirai is not elected
president, he could mount a legal challenge to the validity of the
congress.

Analysts say it is unlikely Sibanda, who
like Tsvangirai comes from the union movement, will become president, but
there are no clear leaders so far. The vote for party president takes place
along provincial lines and most have a Shona majority, making it likely the
new leader will come from Mashonaland.

Sibanda said that by
ridding the party of Tsvangirai and adhering to democratic values, the MDC
would be in a position to regain voter confidence in its leadership. With
Reuters

Farmers Buy 'Expired' Seed

SOME soyabean
farmers in Middle Sabi reportedly lost millions of dollars after buying
eight tonnes of seed that germinated poorly and was suspected to have
expired.

At least seven farmers indicated that production was adversely
affected with each of them claiming to have lost over $200 million in land
preparation, chemicals, water bills and labour costs.

The Middle Sabi
area is one of the most lucrative wheat and soyabean producing areas
targeted by the National Soyabean Promotion Programme.

In an interview
with our Mutare Bureau, the disgruntled farmers said the seed, which was
bought from Seed Co for $38 million per tonne, had a poor
germination.

Seed Co spokesperson Ms Marjorie Mutemererwa said
yesterday the development was unfortunate.

She, however, added that
her company had compensated the farmers while they were also investigating
the issue.

One farmer, Cde David Matangi, said he had bought one tonne of
the seed but had not planted it yet owing to fuel problems.

Member of
Parliament for Chipinge South Cde Enock Porusingazi said he had received
reports on the affected farmers.

"This is indeed a sad development.
Though farmers have received compensation for the seed, it is not adequate.
Who will meet other costs like diesel for tillage, water bills for
irrigation, hired tillage power and herbicides?," Cde Porusingazi
asked.

The head of the National Soyabean Technical Support Team,
Professor Sheunesu Mpepereki, said the poor germination of the seed was
unfortunate.

He said while investigations were underway to establish
circumstances surrounding such an unfortunate setback, farmers should bear
in mind that poor germination could be caused by a number of
factors.

Prof Mpepereki said there could have been an element of poor
handling, wrong planting depths, over wetting during inoculation with
rhizobium as well as low moisture levels during planting.

"A
reputable seed supplier, Seed Co, was the source of the seed and it should
be made clear that it has for a long time been a committed supporter of
previous soyabean promotion efforts."

This year the Government launched a
major national programme targeted at growing 50 000 hectares of soyabean
countrywide.

As the country's biggest seed supplier, Seed Co is a key
stakeholder in the Government initiative and has so far supplied over 90
percent of the total requirement for the programme.

He said the report pertaining
to seven farmers in Middle Sabi is the first since the onset of the planting
season and it could be an isolated incident.

"The National Soyabean
Technical Support Team, in consultation with Seed-Co has been directly
working with the affected farmers and some of the seven farmers have since
received replacement seed while investigations continue."

Zesa Expansion Drive Gets Boost

The Herald
(Harare)

January 16, 2006Posted to the web January 16,
2006

Harare

ZESA Holdings Ltd has so far secured US$800 million
(Z$72 trillion) out of its targeted US$2 billion (Z$180 trillion) for
upgrading and extension of Hwange and Kariba power projects. The programme
is expected to be completed in the next four years.

Company
spokesperson Mr Obert Nyatanga said last Friday that Zesa had obtained
US$600 million for the Hwange Power Station expansion project.

The Hwange
project will include coal mining, construction of transmission substations
and lines plus the installing of two generators with a capacity 300
megawatts (MW) each.

Some US$200 million has also been secured -- from
offshore investors -- to fund development and expansion of the Kariba South
Power Station. Two generators of 150MW each would be installed at the
station.

"The project is already started with the undertaking of detailed
geological surveys at the coalfields and detailed designs of the Hwange
Expansion Project," Mr Nyatanga said.

"These activities will be
completed in six to eight months so that the expanded power station is
commissioned on time in 2009."

Under its Investment Development Plan
(2005-2010), Zesa plans to raise a total of US$2 billion to finance the
development of additional power sources to augment current low production
levels.

Expansion on these projects has also been undertaken to prepare
Zimbabwe for self-sustenance ahead of the anticipated power shortages to hit
the region next year.

Both the Hwange and Kariba stations have
suffered, in recent years, from frequent breakdowns on some of the power
generators and Zesa's failure to secure sufficient foreign currency to
acquire critical spare parts for repairs.

The power projects would be
developed in phases, said Mr Nyatanga, particularly given that they are
capital-intensive initiatives, and required huge amounts of hard currency,
which Zesa could face obstacles in obtaining, not to mention
repaying.

He said: "The security of supply is more enhanced on the supply
and distribution side after Zesa's receipt of distribution materials from
China in December, which materials are meant to reinforce and strengthen the
existing network.

"The network was originally supposed to be funded
by the World Bank under Power II Project Finance. But the World Bank stopped
funding the urban distribution network in 1998."

According to economic commentators Zimbabwe should fully exploit
her vast natural resources such as coal in the generation of power while at
the same time moving away from incurring unnecessary costs in electricity
imports.

Zimbabwe, which imports 35 percent of its electricity
requirements from neighbouring countries, has the largest coal reserves in
Africa outside South Africa and the largest methane gas reserves in East and
Southern Africa.

The two resources are capable of generating
sufficient electricity for the country leaving over 2000 megawatts for the
export market.

The Lupane methane gas is a massive project, which has
attracted international attention with various investors from abroad keen to
partake in the project.

Zesa has been running in the red over the
years due to a tight liquidity position spawned by uneconomic tariffs.

Exiled Zimbabwean journalists launch website

in a bid to bring together exiled journalists and other media practitioners
outside the country. The association, which has 40 experienced journalists
amongst it ranks, intends to help journalists in Zimbabwe expand the
shrinking democratic space in the country.

The website will provide
an outlet for journalists home and abroad to get their stories published.
The government using repressive legislation has shut down 4 newspapers and
denied several media groups any broadcasting licences. This the association
believes has created a need for a more diverse and vibrant mass
media.

Former Daily News reporter and Co-ordinator for the project
Sandra Nyaira, told Newsreel they will seek to nurture media skills so badly
needed in Zimbabwe and continue the fight for press freedom back home. The
AZJ-UK intends to form alliances with the media in the UK and other parts of
the world while also supporting those of their members who have been
affected by repressive laws. This includes finding placements for
journalists and securing opportunities for further training.

The Association says it is independent of any political party and will work
together with fellow colleagues who are scattered around the globe and have
been rendered voiceless. Meanwhile the government using the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) has gazetted new
application and registration fees for journalists and mass media houses. A
Zimbabwean journalist working for a local media company will pay Z$250, 000
while a local journalist working for foreign media will pay an application
fee of US$ 50 plus an accreditation fee of US$ 1000.

Foreign
journalists who need temporary accreditation now have to pay an application
fee of US$ 100 plus an accreditation fee of US$ 500. Application for
permission to operate a representative office for foreign mass media service
or news agency will cost US$ 2, 000 and a US$10,000 fee for permission to
operate. Observers say the move is intended to either raise money for a
cash-strapped government or discourage international media from covering
Zimbabwe.

Press Statement

The newly elected MDC Harare Provincial Executive held
its inaugural meeting today, Tuesday 10 January 2006!

The Executive
noted that the current events since the October 12 National Council Meeting,
hurt the Party so much that there was need for a rebuilding of the
Party!

The department of Information and Publicity was tasked with
developing a public relations programme to be discussed at the next meeting!

The priority of the committee will be to look at the crisis of service
delivery within the Harare City Council. Noting in particular the sorry state
the City is in, with particular emphasis on sanitation and recently the outbreak
of cholera in some parts of the City! The Executive thus adopted a
theme:- ‘No taxation without Representation’Sub Committee
to:-The suggested programmes are:-1)-Support vigorously the CHRA’s lobby
for rates boycott as a way of sending a message to Chombo that his thuggish is
unacceptable!2)-To demand that the City produces an audited report for the
past ten years3)-Form strategic alliances with business for community based
waste management and sanitation programmes

It was agreed that the
humanitarian crisis created by Murambatsvina needed a robust response and the
MDC needs to take a leadership on working with partners willing to
support

The committee that the slogan of the MDC is CHINJA-MAITIRO and
that of ‘ROVERA PASI’ is NOT in our values and violent, abusive and ZANU-PF
slogan!